A dozen miles away from our hometown, there is a blind artist named Wei. Before the New Year's Eve of Qianlong Wuwu (1738), he walked to sing new year's greetings for various families. Each family gave him some food one after another, so he carried the food in his pocket and walked home.
On the way, he unfortunately stumbled and fell into a dry well. This dry well is located in the wilderness, and it happens to be New Year's Eve. Every family is reunited and stays together, and there are almost no pedestrians on the road. The blind artist screamed in the dry well, and no one heard him. Fortunately, the temperature at the bottom of the dry well was warm, and there was dry food in his pocket to eat. When he was thirsty, he chewed a few bites of fruit carefully, and he survived for a few days.
It happened that a butcher named Wang Yisheng drove a pig back. Half a mile away from the dry well, the pig suddenly broke the rope and ran wildly in the field, only to fall into the dry well. When Wang Yisheng hooked up the pig with a hook, he found that there was another person in the dry well. So the blind artist was saved, he was dying at the time.
This dry well was originally not on the road Wang Yisheng was going to take. The reason why he was drawn here is probably because ghosts and gods secretly instigated it.
Brother Qinghu once asked the blind artist about his state of mind in a dry well. The blind artist said: "I was empty of thoughts, and my heart was ashamed. I only missed that my old mother was sick in bed at home, and she was waiting for her blind son to come back to support her! Now she has lost even her blind son. She must be so hungry. When I think of this, I can't help but feel turbulent, my liver and gallbladder are splitting, and I can't bear it."
My brother Qinghu said: "If the blind artist hadn't had this idea at the time, I guess the rope that Wang Yisheng tied the pig would not be broken." From Ji Xiaolan's "Notes on a Minutely Observed Thatched Hut by Ji Yun "
After I leave, you should respect the Pratimokṣa, as if the night meets the light, as if the poor get a treasure. You should know that the Pratimokṣa is your great teacher, just as I taught in the world."-Taking Pratimokṣa as a teacher is a Buddhist term. The allusion comes from the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni when he was about to enter Nirvana.
The lay pratimokṣa consists of five vows that are also known as the Five Śīlas:
To refrain from killing.
To refrain from stealing.
To refrain from false speech.
To refrain from sexual misconduct.
To refrain from using intoxicants.
When Fan Wenzheng (Fan Zhongyan) was the mayor of Hangzhou in the Northern Song Dynasty, it coincided with the famine of the year. A bucket of rice was sold for 120 yuan, and the people had a very difficult life. On the contrary, Wen Zhenggong increased the price of rice to one hundred and eighty yuan for a bucket of rice, and posted a lot of announcements detailing the lack of food in the state, and he did not hesitate to use a high price to collect the rice. The news spread everywhere, and colleagues did not know why he did it. A few days later, rice merchants from far and near were vying to transport grain to Kangzhou. As a result, the price of rice naturally dropped as soon as there were more rice. The people survived the famine by this trick.
[Note] This is also the meaning of the year-round construction of civil engineering, construction of temples, and construction of bridges during the famine. People only know that when the harvest is bad, all kinds of construction should be stopped. However, once the people have nothing to do, they will only die faster. As long as the civil engineering is booming, the money and food of the rich family will naturally be scattered to the homes of the people. It will not harm the rich, but will benefit the poor.
Excerpted from An Shiquan Book "Wenchang Emperor Silently Doing Good Virtue": Increase the price to avoid hunger
Even if you can win every battle, it is better to be patient; even if you speak appropriately every time, it is better to remain silent. -Huang Tingjian "Poem for Zhang Shuhe"
"If you love your parents with the heart of loving your wife and children, you can do your filial piety. If you use the means of preserving wealth to serve your own monarch, you will be able to be loyal. If you can blame yourself with a heart that blames others, you will make fewer mistakes. If you can forgive others with a heart that forgives yourself, you can make friends."-"Jing Xing Lu"
"If a rich family interacts with poor relatives, it will be loyal and blessed." "It is better to give your children the best education than saving money for your children. It is better to reflect on your own behavior than avoiding disasters."-"Jing Xing Lu"
During the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhang Mi served as official historian. There are many diners in his home. One day, Emperor Taizong asked him: "Why do you have so many diners?" Zhang Mi replied: "These relatives and friends of my family live in the countryside and are poor and lack food. But I have more than enough salary and food, so they often come to my house to eat. It's nothing more than vegetable soup." One day, just as he was eating at his house, the emperor sent someone in suddenly to take away the food the diners had eaten. The emperor saw that they were all simple vegetable soup. Therefore, the emperor praised Zhang Mi and called him Vegetable Soup Zhang. [Notes] During the Spring and Autumn Period, the prime minister of Qi, Yan Zi, wore a fox fur coat for 30 years. The thing he used to sacrifice is not full of a plate. However, his father's family, his mother's family, and his wife's family were all supported by him. Fan Zhongyan in the Song Dynasty lived a life of miserable life. However, among his relatives, there were hundreds of families who depended on him to make a living. It can be seen from this that to support relatives, one should start with being frugal.
Excerpted from An Shiquan Book "Wenchang Emperor Silently Doing Good Virtue": Vegetable Soup Zhang gets his name
People who are content are the richest. If a person has a lot of treasures but cannot give alms, it is also called poverty.
When Buddha Shakyamuni was in the world, a businessman named Fujiasha went to Rajgir City. He just entered the city gate and was killed by a cow. The owner of the cow was scared and quickly sold the cow. The buyer took the cow to drink water, and the cow killed him from behind. His family was very angry, so they killed the cow and sold her beef. A farmer came to buy a cow's head and left. He accidentally took a rest under a tree and hung the cow's head on the tree. After a while, the rope suddenly broke, the cow's head fell, and the farmer was stabbed to death by the cow's horns.
At that time, King Bimbisara asked the Buddha about this bizarre matter. The Buddha said: "Once upon a time, there were three businessmen who stayed in an old woman’s house, and they were supposed to pay her rent. However, these three bullied her because she was old and lonely and incompetent. These three people waited for the old woman to go out, and then slipped away quietly. The old woman immediately caught up with the three of them. But the three people scolded the old woman and said:'We have paid you the rent before, why are you still asking.' The old woman knows they are playing tricks, but has no choice but to curse and hate. The old woman made a wish that if she met three of them in the next life, she would definitely kill them. The old woman at that time was the cow now. The three merchants at that time were the three who were now killed by the cow."
[Note] This old woman is an old and poor person. Fujiasha and the other two bullied her to be old and poor, and they would repay the old debt once fate met.
Excerpted from An Shiquan Book "Wenchang Emperor Silently Doing Good Virtue": One Cow kills three people